Officials want video-surveillance system in Houma

Tuesday

Jan 29, 2013 at 8:04 PM

A video-monitoring system is the future of fighting crime in Houma, local officials say.

Chance RyanStaff Writer

A video-monitoring system is the future of fighting crime in Houma, local officials say.In an effort to make the parish safer, Houma Police and Terrebonne Parish government are proposing an intergovernmental agreement with business owners and residents to create a live network of video-camera feeds to be monitored at a centralized location by Neighborhood Watch volunteers.The roughly 50 existing downtown cameras span from the South Louisiana Feed Store near Main and Naquin streets to New Orleans Boulevard. Other cameras are also in the Downtown Marina underneath the La. 24 Twin Spans. Law enforcement is able to monitor most of the area. Police officials said many business owners and residents in the downtown area who already have cameras installed have agreed to allow police to include their video feeds into the system. Houma Police Lt. Bobbie O’Bryan said having a centralized network that encompasses all available cameras’ video feeds for dispatchers to monitor in real time is the next best thing to having more officers.O’Bryan said he’d like to have the volunteer monitoring system up and running by April.The parish government has earmarked $25,000 to buy at least an eight-camera system, O’Bryan figured, and he anticipates there will be more to come. The new cameras’ locations are still being discussed.In areas where cameras are present, police have seen a significant drop in crime, he said.“I’m not saying they eliminated it 100 percent, but crime has dramatically decreased in (these) areas,” he said.For instance, Court Square in downtown Houma was constantly having its flower beds torn up, along with other misconduct, O’Bryan said, but the cameras have put a stop to that.“I can’t remember the last time we’ve had an incident like that in Court Square,” he said.Cameras posted near the City Club on Main Street were key in solving a Dec. 23 shooting in which four people were injured outside the club.The video was a true eyewitness, O’Bryan said.In many ways, O’Bryan said the on-the-spot monitoring will save the department money. Officers will not need to spend hours sorting through video to find relevant incidents for investigations, he said.With dedicated volunteers monitoring the cameras in real time at a central location, they’ll be able to see problems as they’re happening and dispatch police officers accordingly, O’Bryan said. This will provide a safer, cost-effective and more efficient system, he added.Houma Police Sgt. Lee Lyons, who helps run the Neighborhood Watch in Houma, could not be reached for comment. Councilman John Navy, whose District 1 is a high-crime area, said he prefers the cameras be used to monitor hot spots of east Houma.Navy said he’d like to place cameras in Mechanicville, Dularge and Deweyville, and around High Street and Lee Avenue.“We’ll be meeting soon to discuss where we want these cameras at,” Navy said. “Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of fights and drug incidents in those areas, and hopefully we can deter some of that.”Michelle Ledet, 29, of Houma, said on Facebook the cameras can be a Catch-22.“It would help provide solid evidence for crimes such as burglary, break-ins and drug dealing,” for which police have difficulty in obtaining evidence, she said. “On the other hand, while I agree that if you have nothing to hide, (cameras) shouldn’t bother you, but some personal, legal things should remain private.”Craig Dykes, 33, of Chauvin said if cameras are going to be used to deter crime, they should be installed in high-crime areas, not where crime is minimal.Another initiative O’Bryan would like to see become a reality is the installation of panic buttons downtown, which would alert 911 to emergencies. The buttons would also trigger nearby cameras that would provide dispatch with a clear visual of what’s happening, so officers know how to respond.“This will allow officers to be better prepared once they get there,” O’Bryan said. “It would also shave down more time because dispatch would be able to tell whether the call was an accident or not.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.